A New Hope?

So the other day, my dad asks me to apply at this car repair company as a customer sales rep. I'm kind of confused about it, but I agree to do it anyway. Looking over the application, it doesn't seem like I'm even qualified to apply for this job, and I'm not terribly excited about the prospect of doing the job, but remembering my dad's urgent request, I fill out the application, turn it in, and don't really think anything of it.

The day before yesterday, I get a call from the company, asking me to do a phone interview with them the next day. So, I agree, and prepare for the interview, which happened yesterday. The interview went pretty well, and the interviewer says that she will call me the next day in the afternoon. That evening, while telling my dad about the whole ordeal, he tells me that he knows a big wig at the company, and asked him to push me through to employment. I'm almost mad at my dad for not telling me about this. I mean, here I was, thinking I was doing so well, when maybe someone has just been ordered to push me through to employment. Gah. Anyway, they have yet to call "this afternoon" and it's already 5:30. But who knows, maybe they got backed up or something. Of course, the worst-case scenario is going through my head (but I won't bore you with the details of that). I'm still holding out hope... I feel like Princess Leia in Star Wars Episode IV, repeating: "Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope."

The hunt for employment may be nearly over-- but I'm not calling off the dogs yet. But I hope they call me (with some good news) soon.

My Summer To-Do List

So, today I was reading a friend's blog, and she came up with 50 things that she wants to accomplish before she goes back to school in the fall. I thought this was a great idea, and decided to come up with my own list of things to do this summer. (some of them I stole from her list, but only because they were so good!) I think I'll stick with 26 things to do (after all, 26 is my favorite number!). Here they are:

1. Learn to knit or crochet, then make a Ravenclaw scarf for the HP7 (part 1) premiere in November

2. Go camping with my family

3. Go on a bike ride or a canoe trip with friends
4. Attend as many Clippers games as I can
5. Grow closer to God
6. Go to a concert
7. Watch a sunset
8. Watch a sunrise with a friend (after staying up all night, of course!)
9. Go to the beach
10. Take a road trip with friends
11. Visit my grandparents (both sets)
12. Read 5 chapters of the Bible every day
13. Start the Europe scrapbook before I forget everything (haha)
14. Go to a midnight showing of a movie
15. Have a HAM Night in Columbus
16. Cook a meal for my family
17. Work on my novel
18. Try new vegetarian-friendly foods
19. Walk Skye more often
20. Get a job (and make some sweet moolah)
21. Have a Harry Potter movie marathon
22. Ditto Star Wars
23. Get my hair cut in a cuter hairstyle
24. Play golf with some of my teammates from high school
25. Beat my dad in a round of golf
26. Read or re-read...

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Pride and Prejudice
• Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets Them Go
• The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Societies
• Jane Eyre
• Heat Wave
• The Book Thief
• Watchmen
• Blue Like Jazz
• The rest of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series

I might be close to completing a few of these already... such as #20... keep your fingers crossed!

Job Interview

“Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning

metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.”

-Eliza Tabor

Today, I had a job interview at a department store. I felt pretty confident in my ability to do the job that they were asking of me, but I was a little unsure if I was really qualified for it (like, if I had enough experience). But I got the interview, so I figured, "Well, my previous employment information was on the application, so they must be interested in me anyway." So, I head out to the interview this morning, feeling confident, and I walk into the wrong store. Apparently, there are 2 of the same department store where I applied at that particular mall. I felt a little frazzled, but walked to the other side of the mall and found the HR department in plenty of time (and calmed down along the way). The manager who interviewed me seemed really nice, and the interview was going really well. At the end, I'm expecting something completely different than what happened next.

She looks at me, smiling, and says that she's sorry, but I just don't have the retail experience that the job she's hiring for needs, and that she barely has enough hours for the people she has hired already, but thanks for coming in for the interview and maybe I can come back during a busier season for a job. I politely nodded understandingly and thanked her for her time. As I'm walking back to my car (which is parked out front of the other department store), I'm thinking through the interview. Why even ask me to interview if she knew I didn't have the experience she wanted for the job? And moreover, why is she hiring more people when she barely has enough hours for the people she already hired? I was really disappointed. I guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up so much...

When I started my car, the radio automatically turned on, and "Airplanes" by B.O.B. was playing. Funny how things like that happen when you really need them to. :) "Can we pretend that the airplanes / In the night sky / Are like shooting stars / I could really use a wish right now..."

Initially, not getting the job was disappointing, of course, but at least I got more experience in interviewing, and know what kinds of questions to expect in my next one. And I've got a solid lead at another store, so hopefully that or one of my other applications sparks something. I could really use a job right now...

Job Search Blues

So, the job search isn't going so well. I called back a place I thought I had a solid lead on, and the manager who talked to me didn't seem too optimistic. I've applied to so many places I've lost count. This is partially because every day my dad has come home demanding, "So, how many job applications did you fill out today?" Today alone I filled out 19. My brother, who is 17 and has less work experience than me, filled out one job application, and he got an interview. That interview was today, and guess what? He got the job. What the heck?! He fills out ONE lousy application and gets a job, while I've been working my butt off and get nothing? So unfair... I hope something turns up. It's already halfway through June and I have to go back to school in August. I've been working at this since I came home a month ago. It's getting ridiculous. This summer I was really hoping to get a job, even if I had to wear a dorky uniform and smell like french fries or wake up at 4 am for a 5-o'clock shift. I don't think I've been unreasonable with my job expectations, either. I just don't get it.... Maybe it's because he's a guy and I'm a girl. Wouldn't that just take the cake... but a few of my friends got jobs this summer already, some of them girls. Maybe I'm just inadequate. I hope that's not the case... At any rate, I hope I get hired somewhere soon. Or at least an interview.

( Wish I were here... )

Sunsets :)

I'm a sucker for sunsets, silhouettes, flowers, reflections, water features, and clouds. I always feel like I should take a picture of them so I don't forget how beautiful the world can be. I've seen quite a few sunsets in my travels, but some of the most beautiful sunsets I've seen have been in Ohio.

Here are a few of my favorites:

• This one was taken in Bowling Green, Ohio, this March.

• Okay, this one was in Key West, Florida this March. But it was still very pretty!

• This was taken en route from Quincy, Ohio, on Route 75 in January.

• This one was taken in Bowling Green this February. I thought it looked like the Arctic or something (it certainly felt like it!).

• This one was taken en route to Cincinnati for my church group's spring retreat.

The pictures obviously can't do them justice, but I hope you enjoyed them! :)

Long time no see...

Okay, I have not been very constant with my posts at all, and for that, I apologize. I'm going to make it a goal to have at least one post per week, but we'll see how busy life gets this summer.

Today is the last day of school for my siblings: my brother, D, is finishing up his high school finals for the year; my sister, L, is graduating from middle school; and my brother, J, is graduating from elementary school. (My youngest sister, N, doesn't go to school yet, seeing as she is four.) I've been out of school for about a month now, but it hasn't been a particularly relaxing break. There were several times I would have gone back to BG and begged for a paper instead. I've been on the hunt for a job for the summer, and my search has been largely unsuccessful. It's hard to get a job if you don't have experience, apparently. I've applied to at least 30 places, and I don't have a job yet. I did think I was getting close when I talked to the manager of TJ Maxx, but after she said she would call me in two days, she didn't. Even a nannying job that I thought I was a shoo-in for didn't pan out. The woman I was supposed to talk to kept flaking on me. And, of course, I've gotten those awful rejection form-letters, in all shapes and sizes. I really wish I had a job... because then my parents would get off my back, among other things. They have been working me hard at home since I don't technically have a job. I've hardly had time for myself these past few weeks, even though I'm home alone at least 6 hours a day. I've been able to see a few of my friends, but most of my good friends are either A) working pretty much full-time, B) not out of school yet, or C) over an hour drive away. Besides, I've been too busy to even work on my novel (which I'm really excited about). It's occurred to me that this must be what my parents' lives are like all the time, but I'm not a parent! I'm just a college kid. And most college kids don't have the kinds of responsibilities I have at home. It's kind of ridiculous...

I miss the freedom I had at BG. And I miss the friends I made at BG. They all live so far away from where I do... It really sucks. I have seen my roommate, M, a couple times this summer, but we had to plan it all out, which was so weird, because I'm used to seeing her every day.

On a positive note, my friend S who moved to New York about a year ago is coming to visit in a few days! :) It's going to be so nice to see her, since I haven't seen her in 6 months. Last time I saw her, we met halfway and hung out in a mall for the day. It'll be better this time, since we can go wherever and do whatever we want to (at least, more so than the last time). Before then, of course, I'll have to clean the house, per my parents' request, since she is staying here. I'd better get busy if I want to get some stuff done today and go to my siblings' individual graduation ceremonies. Tchao for now!